A son who caused the death of his elderly mother by fracturing her ribs and then left her to “rot” at her Sutton Coldfield home has been jailed for 12 years.

The badly decomposed body of 81-year-old Beryl Hammond was found by police in her bedroom in August last year.

Darren Hammond denied, but was found guilty of the manslaughter of his mother between July 12 and August 12 by a jury, following a trial at Birmingham Crown Court.

He was acquitted of murder.

Darren Hammond

The court heard how Hammond left his mother to “rot” before carrying on with his everyday life, which had including regularly going online to watch pornography.

The 41-year-old, who suffered from alcoholism, had lived with his mother at Ebrook Road and had a history of violence and bullying towards her.

Police were alerted by neighbours on August 12 who had not seen the pensioner about and became aware of a smell coming from the house.

It was discovered that the victim had suffered 10 fractured ribs.

Police in Ebrook Road, Sutton Coldfield

The court heard the victim was in such a bad state that a pathologist was unable to determine the actual cause of death.

Stephen Linehan QC, prosecuting, said the attack by Hammond, which caused the rib fractures, had involved throwing his mother on the floor of her bedroom and then applying downward pressure across her chest on both sides.

“Given her age and her vulnerability due to ill health, the defendant was well aware that the attack must have carried a high risk of death or really serious injury.”

“It is a terrible crime for someone to kill their own mother, to end her life in her own bedroom where she was left to rot.

“You showed not one iota of sympathy or remorse for what you had done.”

Detective Inspector Caroline Corfield, from Force CID, said: “Beryl Hammond died after suffering years of abuse at the hands of her own son, Darren Hammond , who abused her physically and took advantage of her financially. He disassociated himself from his mother’s death initially claiming to have no knowledge of it until police officers entered her bedroom and discovered her body. At trial he claimed to have discovered her death only three days before the arrival of police.

“A series of messages sent from Darren to a girlfriend demonstrated that he was becoming increasingly angry and frustrated with his mother in the months before his arrest. On 19 July, he referred to his mother in messages for the last time. He could provide no explanation for how or when she died or her ten broken ribs. He expected the court to find it acceptable that he could live in a small house for many weeks with the decomposing body of his mother without realising she was dead, checking on her welfare or seeking medical help. The truth is Darren concealed the death of his mother in an attempt to escape justice after his abuse of her resulted in the most tragic outcome.

“I’d like to thank the people who came forward to assist in this investigation. I hope Beryl’s family and friends can take some comfort from Darren Hammond ’s conviction."